Subject
nechist' (evil spirits) in "The Event"
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The devil makes an interesting appearance in "The Event." Much to the surprise of Antonina Pavlovna who responded to the doorbell and opened the door, Barboshin enters the flat and first of all rushes to the lavatory:
Антонина Павловна. Знаешь, Любушка, в передней до сих пор хрустит под ногами.
Трощейкин. Кто это был?
Антонина Павловна. К тебе. Говорит, что ты его вызвал из сыскного бюро.
Трощейкин. А, так я и думал. (Уходит.)
Антонина Павловна. Довольно странный персонаж. Сразу пошел в уборную. (Act Three)
Barboshin's strange behaviour can be explained by the fact that he is nechistyi, nechistaya sila (the Evil one) and must wash his hands (nechistyi literally means "unclean").
Speaking of nechist' in 'VN's plays and elsewhere, I notice that in Gautier's story "Two Actors for One Part" (the devil being one of its characters) Lanner's waltzes are mentioned, and I think it would be interesting to compare "The Event" and "The Waltz Invention" with Pushkin's and Gogol's "St. Petersburg Tales."
Alexey Sklyarenko
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Антонина Павловна. Знаешь, Любушка, в передней до сих пор хрустит под ногами.
Трощейкин. Кто это был?
Антонина Павловна. К тебе. Говорит, что ты его вызвал из сыскного бюро.
Трощейкин. А, так я и думал. (Уходит.)
Антонина Павловна. Довольно странный персонаж. Сразу пошел в уборную. (Act Three)
Barboshin's strange behaviour can be explained by the fact that he is nechistyi, nechistaya sila (the Evil one) and must wash his hands (nechistyi literally means "unclean").
Speaking of nechist' in 'VN's plays and elsewhere, I notice that in Gautier's story "Two Actors for One Part" (the devil being one of its characters) Lanner's waltzes are mentioned, and I think it would be interesting to compare "The Event" and "The Waltz Invention" with Pushkin's and Gogol's "St. Petersburg Tales."
Alexey Sklyarenko
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
Manage subscription options: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/